Sunset Rubdown “Dragonslayer” Review
Typically, whenever a highly prolific artist creates a seemingly unending stream of content, the quality begins to suffer, if only slightly. It doesn’t matter the medium—we could be discussing visual art in the form of paintings or graphic design, authors penning an assortment of articles or books, or musicians cranking out songs (Ryan Adams comes to mind). The result is the same in that, the more material that starts to circulate in an ever-shrinking window of time, something’s bound to give, and the art typically fails before the artist’s psyche and stamina crumbles.
Yet, it seems that Spencer Krug remains either blissfully unaware of this penchant for burnout amongst over-taxed artists or he’s far more resilient and creative than the average person (much less music critic) realizes. While his work with the über-hyped Wolf Parade might have garnered Krug some of his initial notoriety, I would contend that Dragonslayer, the new record released by his Sunset Rubdown project, might just vault him into the musical stratosphere. Simply put, this record might prove to be his magnum opus, the culmination and combination of the varied styles of indie rock with which he’s experimented over the course of this decade.
Dragonslayer is packed to the gills with dark, brooding, mid-tempo slow-burners that delightfully blur the lines between ballads and big, overblown rock anthems. The guitars are large, keening, and designed to fill up huge arenas, but Krug constructs his sound with a modicum of self-control that’s absent in the Coldplays and Arcade Fires of the world. The difference is that the music of Sunset Rubdown pulses with an anticipatory energy that leaves the band and listener on a fine, sharp edge, yet never cheaply or crudely baits one’s emotions. Moreover, Krug’s vocals, especially when complemented by the lovely female backing vocals, are in fine form as they utter forth his lyrics, parables that are laden richly with metaphors and pastoral imagery aplenty.
Personally I find the syncopated drumming and the deft fingers dancing upon the keys of the various pianos, synthesizers, and organs to be Dragonslayer‘s standout musical elements. The drums set a firm pace and tone for the songs, one that is dutifully followed by the other instruments and voices. The standout tracks on this record are “Idiot Heart, “Paper Lace,” and “You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II);” each displays the impressive scope and breadth of Krug’s artistic abilities, while still remaining a quality rock song.
[group photo by David Horvitz via Jagjaguar]
My primary quibble with this excellent album is that some songs can run a bit longer than they should. While “Black Swan” and “Dragon’s Lair” are comprised of the same stellar elements that I extol across this review, their protracted song lengths become tiresome when they begin to pound the same themes over and over. Furthermore, the quaint intimacy of the folk-ish “Nightingale/December Song” feels out of place against the seven other songs on Dragonslayer.
Then again, maybe the issue is that I still don’t (and will never) quite understand progressive rock, a genre to which Dragonslayer gives several appreciative nods. Instead of mashing together two or three worthwhile musical ideas into one song (as “Dragon’s Lair” does with great aplomb), why not subdivide into two or three shorter songs that could each focus upon a singular element with greater effectiveness and style? Is it wrong that I’d rather hear ten to twelve three-to-four-minute songs instead of eight songs that average nearly six minutes long in length?
It’s not really my place to argue with a great rock record of this nature though. Krug has once again has proven that he is in possession of one of the more fruitful, fertile musical minds of this generation. Forget the Muses and other “arty” arena rock bands plying their trade these days—Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown is what should be in heavy rotation amongst fans of tremendous guitars, booming drums, and quality song craft. To put it another way, this is not some hipster-friendly, trendy indie rock wankery; this is high-end, left-of-center rock-n-roll.
[Review by guest contributor Adam P. Newton.]
One of my favorites of the year… but 2009 is deep enough (thus far, even) that it kinda blends in amongst a lot of the other sweet sweet candy that the year has had to offer.
“One of my favorites of the year… but 2009 is deep enough (thus far, even) that it kinda blends in”
totally agree. This is an amazing album, but I keep listening to other stuff and forgetting about it. When I do come back to it I am always blown away. I will admit that the show at the entry a few weeks back kind of lost me. The 6 minute prog jams were a little much in the live setting.